From First to Third Level Interest in 2022: How the Rest of the World Saw Africa and Africa Saw Herself

As Internet searches and behaviours are expected to cease at 12 a.m. around the world in 2022, our analyst examines public interest in Africa as a continent during the year, with a particular focus on the proposition that Internet users who searched using Google Search Engine chose “Africa” as a keyword towards understanding issues, challenges, and opportunities in Africa. In this piece, related search queries after using “Africa” are considered at first, second and third levels. The first level of interest represents the most frequently searched related queries to the keyword. The second and third level interests include the second and third most searched related queries.

Internet users from 166 countries, including African countries are considered for data sources. The countries are; Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bermuda, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, Colombia, Comoros, Congo Brazzaville, Costa Rica, Cote d’Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea.

Estonia, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Iraq, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kosovo, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macao, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Moldova, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Somalia, South Africa, South Korea, South Sudan, Spain, Sri Lanka, St Lucia, Sudan, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Trinidad & Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States of America, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Vietnam, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Our analyst discovered a “search interest divide” in which people in some countries did not search for additional topics. In other words, they only wanted information about Africa and ignored other needs and/or issues. There were, for example, no related search queries from Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Comoros, Eritrea, Guinea-Bissau and Niger. This also applies to the users in Afghanistan, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belgium, Belize, Bermuda, Burundi, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Comoros, Eritrea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Kosovo, Macao, Mauritania, Niger, Palestine, Seychelles, Syria and Ukraine who did not consider related search queries at second and third level interests.

For the interest categories, a total of 428 related search queries from all the countries were found. For first and third level interest, over 37% and 32%, respectively, were discovered. The top ten related searches were examined further for analysis. Our analyst believes that the emerging search interest pattern indicates that the third level interests were used to address the needs that the first level could not satisfy (see Exhibit 1-3). Further investigation reveals that users were preoccupied with African football from first to third level. Knowing locations across the continent came next.

Observing Africa through the lens of South Africa is one of the analysis’s unexpected outcomes. In essence, our analyst discovered that users, particularly those from outside the continent, searched for South Africa as a related query to learn more about her (Africa). Further investigation of this result reveals that the lure that encouraged searching the nation as an additional topic was South African music with a focus on Mama Africa. The third place that business and music held at the second and third levels of interest was another surprising result.

Exhibit 1: Africa and the rest of the world’s first level interest

Exhibit 2: Africa and the rest of the world’s second level interest

Exhibit 3: Africa and the rest of the world’s third level interest

Our analyst says it is not surprising that football was the most popular related search query throughout the year after looking at the newly revealed insights. Both the World Cup and the Africa Cup of Nations were held during the year. Despite this, all interested parties must examine the disparate positions occupied by business and education. An advocacy campaign on the best ways to use the tool for examining business opportunities and educational needs is necessary.